Phoenix- In a year marked by upheaval, Lotus Contemporary Art, a gallery at 511 E. Roosevelt, presents a rare opportunity to view an exclusive collection of controversial political artwork. Organizers say that in a pivotal election year, political art is highly collectible, and they want to level the field in a liberal leaning industry.

Billed as “Provocative Art 2016”, the public is invited to the show’s opening reception with the artists on Friday, April 22, at 6 PM- 10PM, with an additional showing on Saturday, April 23, from Noon to 3PM.

Richard Bledsoe, a Remodernist painter, writer, and curator who lives in Phoenix, is one of the participating artists. [pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“The establishment art world tends to cater exclusively to politically correct elitists. This is a beautiful show that expresses a view of the culture people typically don’t get to experience.”[/pullquote]

From the delicate “Ballerina Feet” by Sharon McGovern to hard edged, controversial editorial work, organizers say that art lovers can enjoy the beauty and humor of the political art world, as well as talk to artists who refuse to conform to today’s political norms.

“Most of the work at art shows expresses only one side of the spectrum,” said Melissa Dawdy, one of the event’s organizers, “ It’s clear there is a demand for high quality art from the right as well, and Phoenix is a terrific city for a premiere.”

Dawdy says that artists report show invitations are often withdrawn if they reveal any political conservatism. “The establishment ‘culture’ is very punishing to non-conformists. In the creative field there should be room for everyone’s voice.”

Why call the show “provocative”?

“The pendulum,” says Dawdy, “swings back; ‘Piss Christ’ used to be shocking, but what provokes interest today is artwork that that expresses freedom within the context of Western Civilization. [pullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Artists are planting a flag in the sand, saying “Art is not about conforming to a political view.”[/pullquote]

Below is the front page article of the July 15 Arizona Capitol Times. I want to express my appreciation to those courageous and principled County and LD Republican Committees who have already conducted votes of “censure” and/or “no confidence.”

Jan Brewer, the legislators and their crony capitalist friends that support ObamaCare and Medicaid expansion have betrayed Americans, Arizona Republicans and the Republican Party Platform. Their lack of ethics, integrity and egregious acts are motivated by only two things – greed and the lust for power – at the expense of hard working tax paying Americans.

The law was expected to cost $898 billion over the first decade when the bill was first passed, but this year the Congressional Budget Office revised that estimate to $1.85 trillion. Money that will have to be borrowed from the Chinese or printed in the backroom of the Federal Reserve. Latest polls indicate a majority of Americans are opposed to ObamaCare and Medicaid expansion with an overwhelming majority of Republicans in opposition.

During the past six months, we did everything we could to make a solid argument against ObamaCare and Medicaid expansion, we tried to reason with these people and even tried to make them see the light. Unfortunately, our lobbying efforts fell on deaf ears and without success.

During one of Ronald Reagan’s difficult political battles he said,

“When you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat.”

I’m asking all the County and LD Republican Committees to make these people feel the heat by passing public censures for their actions. They are elitists who think what they have done should be forgiven. They are mistaken. We are not going to be able to defeat all of them, but we can defeat a majority of them in the 2014 Primary Election.

You can go to “MCRC Briefs” and get examples of public censures that have already been passed. http://briefs.maricopagop.org/ Just type “censure” in the search field on the left.

Warmest regards,

A. J. LaFaro

Chairman, Maricopa County Republican Committee

P.S. Please encourage all of your PCs to keep up their daily efforts in getting petition signatures for www.urapc.org Getting ObamaCare and Medicaid expansion on the November 2014 ballot will be historic for Arizona’s grassroots conservatives.

Congratulations to my friend, Chris DeRose, on the release of his second book, Congressman Lincoln: The Making of America’s Greatest President.

Chris’ book came out today as he launches his book tour.

Here is the Amazon description of Chris’ book:

A biography of the early years and personal struggles of the famous frontier politician who led the United States during its darkest hours, centering on his little-known congressional years. This the story of an Abraham Lincoln many Americans aren’t at all familiar with. Lincoln as a reluctant husband in an abusive relationship; Lincoln who came within moments of fighting a duel with a political adversary; the first and only president to patent an invention; the first future president to argue before the Supreme Court.

Though remembered as a Republican, and even more as a figure that transcended partisan politics, Congressman Lincoln reveals Abraham Lincoln as a master political strategist and member of the Whig Party, the one to which he belonged for the majority of his career. Before he appealed to the America’s purest instincts, he argued “The Whigs have fought long enough for principle and ought to begin to fight for success.” Before “malice toward none,” Lincoln bragged of his opponent “I’ve got the preacher by the balls.”

Lincoln the policymaker is remembered for his conduct of the Civil War, and his handling of slavery. But even during his Presidency, Lincoln was concerned with a broad array of issues. As a party leader, candidate for Congress, and member of the House, Lincoln worked on stimulus spending, international trade, banking, and even the Post Office. And it would be in the Thirtieth Congress that Lincoln would first move to halt the expansion of slavery, carefully crafting a bill for gradual emancipation in the District of Columbia.

This is the story of America at a critical time. The tale of a Congress that ended a conflict, unsure of what they had gained aside from a seat strapped to a powderkeg, of a party aiming to win the Presidency at all costs, paving the path for its own extinction, and of a country charting an irreversible course toward Civil War. Moreover, it is the story of the man who lead the United States during its darkest hours and his role at the center of this gathering storm. This is the story of Congressman Abraham Lincoln.

It’s like a bad re-run. A few legislators are trying to revive Arizona’s film production tax credit (SB 1170) that lapsed in 2011.

According to the last annual report on the effectiveness of the credit, in 2009 four media companies completed production on credit-approved projects. After taking into consideration the small bit of sales tax revenue the film generated while in production, the state paid out a net of just over $2 million in tax credits. That’s an average of half a million dollars per project.

How many jobs did that create? About 41 jobs directly related to the project and another 20 that were presumably from the ripple effect on the local economy. An analysis by economists at the W.P. Carey School at Arizona State University shows that these jobs were temporary and, thus, the post-production employment impact of this tax credit was “minimal.”

States like Washington and Iowa terminated their film credit programs last year and others have suspended them until their effectiveness can be studied. The general consensus among analysts is that these credits cost more than they’re worth and their existence owes more to star-struck policymakers than it does to economic logic.

The legislature this year, just as they did last year, should avoid putting Arizona taxpayers back on the hook for film production. Arizona doesn’t need to buy another ticket to this overpriced flop.

Many local governments in Arizona want us to believe they have gone to extreme lengths to tighten their budget belts. But when you hear that Tucson is using its sign laws to squelch artistic murals on the historic Rialto Theater because the murals aren’t purely for artistic purposes—they also promote shows at the theater—your realize budgets can’t be that bare. Then there are the pool cops of Maricopa County, who are aiming to shut down weekend pool parties used by Phoenix-area resorts to boost their business during this recession.

Any government that can waste resources on such measures has too many idle hands on the payroll. The fact that local governments can’t recognize this shows that streamlining budgets requires more than a commitment to saving money. It requires a guiding philosophy of limited government.

In many cases, cities and counties cannot focus limited resources on core functions because they cannot identify what functions are core. Laws against genuine public nuisances have no higher standing than crack downs on wall murals and bans on resort pool parties where guests might eat or drink too close to the water. Resources are stretched because government officials are using them to perform needless and often abusive tasks.

Fortunately, local governments can look right at the Arizona Constitution for guidance on identifying core functions: “All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.”

Officials who accept this basic principle of limited government are unlikely to prosecute businesses for such offenses as painting wall murals on their own property that also advertise their business and planning some outdoor fun to attract more customers. No function of government is a core function if it has nothing to do with protecting and maintaining individual rights.

Nick Dranias holds the Clarence J. and Katherine P. Duncan Chair for Constitutional Government and is Director of the Joseph and Dorothy Donnelly Moller Center for Constitutional Government at the Goldwater Institute.

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